System information access using isolated cable

ABSTRACT

One embodiment provides a method, the method including: providing, via an execution module of a cable, an instruction to a system coupled to the cable to access and read out information of the system to the cable; generating, at the cable, a machine-readable label from the information of the system; and displaying, on a display operatively coupled to the cable, the machine-readable label, wherein the machine-readable label provides instructions to a device reading the machine-readable label to access a data storage location and log the information of the system into the data storage location.

BACKGROUND

As computing systems are utilized, they store information related to theuse of the system which identifies data related to the granular use ofthe system, for example, battery cycles, shock events, hours run,thermal events, and the like. This information may be useful indifferent applications or use cases. For example, if something is notworking on the system, a technician can access this information toidentify if it may provide an indication of why the system is notworking correctly. As another example, many entities lease systems thathave a lease ending date. At this date the system is turned in andreplaced with a new system for the user. However, the system may stillhave some life or use, identified as residual value. This residual valuecan be determined from the information.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In summary, one aspect provides a method, the method including:providing, via an execution module of a cable, an instruction to asystem coupled to the cable to access and read out information of thesystem to the cable; generating, at the cable, a machine-readable labelfrom the information of the system; and displaying, on a displayoperatively coupled to the cable, the machine-readable label, whereinthe machine-readable label provides instructions to a device reading themachine-readable label to access a data storage location and log theinformation of the system into the data storage location.

Another aspect provides a cable, the cable including: a displayoperatively coupled to the cable; an execution module operativelycoupled to the display, the execution module including a processor and amemory device that stores instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, causes the device to: provide, via the execution module, aninstruction to a system coupled to the cable to access and read outinformation of the system to the cable; generate, at the cable, amachine-readable label from the information of the system; and display,on the display, the machine-readable label, wherein the machine-readablelabel provides instructions to a device reading the machine-readablelabel to access a data storage location and log the information of thesystem into the data storage location.

A further aspect provides a product, the product including: acomputer-readable storage device that stores executable code that, whenexecuted by a processor, causes the product to: provide, via anexecution module of a cable, an instruction to a system coupled to thecable to access and read out information of the system to the cable;generate, at the cable, a machine-readable label from the information ofthe system; and display, on a display operatively coupled to the cable,the machine-readable label, wherein the machine-readable label providesinstructions to a device reading the machine-readable label to access adata storage location and log the information of the system into thedata storage location.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications,generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is notintended to be in any way limiting.

For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other andfurther features and advantages thereof, reference is made to thefollowing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of information handling device circuitry.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of information handling devicecircuitry.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method for accessing information on asystem utilizing a cable that sends an instruction to read out theinformation, generate a machine-readable label from the information, anddisplay the machine-readable label on a display so that a device readingthe label can log the information into a data storage location.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations inaddition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following moredetailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in thefigures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, asclaimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are provided to give athorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant artwill recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practicedwithout one or more of the specific details, or with other methods,components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well knownstructures, materials, or operations are not shown or described indetail to avoid obfuscation.

To access the information regarding the system, a technician has topower on the system, access the proper display screens that display thedesired information, and log the information. This is verytime-consuming and requires precision by the technician. Thus, thisprocess can lead to human error where information is incorrectly logged.Incorrectly logged information can lead to incorrect residual valuecalculations. Thus, this process is both inefficient and frequentlyinaccurate. There are also in-band management tools that work when thesystem is actively deployed and managed by a tool. The tool can keeptrack of this information while the system is deployed and running.However, when the system is wiped for return and/or resale, thisinformation can only be gathered using the manual technique describedabove or booting via a network boot program.

While there are techniques for transmitting system information from acellular phone to a data storage location, these techniques transmit allthe information of the mobile device to the data storage location. Thistransmitted information may unintentionally include malware or othernefarious software or code. In other words, if the mobile device isinfected with nefarious software, this software will also be transmittedto the data storage location, thereby infecting the data storagelocation. Purposely including nefarious software on a mobile device tobe transmitted to a data storage location, is one technique thatnefarious actors may use to access and infect the data storage location.Additionally, these techniques are only applicable to mobile devices andare not found for more standard computing systems (e.g., laptops,personal computers, etc.).

Accordingly, the described system and method provides a technique foraccessing information on a system utilizing a cable that sends aninstruction to read out the information, generate a machine-readablelabel from the information, and display the machine-readable label on adisplay so that a device reading the label can log the information intoa data storage location. The described system includes a cable that hasan execution module and an operatively coupled display. The cable isplugged into a system for which system information is desired. Theexecution module provides an instruction to the system to access andread out information of the system to the cable. In other words, theexecution module of the cable provides instructions to pull the desiredsystem information from the system without requiring a user to manuallyaccess the system and identify the locations of the desired systeminformation.

From the information, the system generates a machine-readable labelwhich can be displayed on the display of the cable. When themachine-readable label is read by another device, it providesinstructions to access a data storage location and log the informationof the system into the data storage location, thereby negating the needfor a user to manually log the system information. In an embodiment, thecable does not include any external communication connectioncapabilities, meaning it cannot transmit information to any otherlocation, thereby isolating the cable from any other system. Anotherbenefit that the described cable may provide is that it may be encryptedand only allow communication with a system that is able to beauthenticated through the encryption. Thus, the described cable providesa secure technique for accessing and logging the system information.

Therefore, a system provides a technical improvement over traditionalmethods for accessing system information. The described system andmethod provide both a device and a technique for accessing systeminformation that does not require a user to completely boot up thesystem in order to access the system information. Additionally, sincethe device and technique work to access system information after thesystem has been wiped, the device and technique provide an improvementover conventional system tools that track the information when thesystem is in-band. The device and technique are able to be employedwhile the system is powered down and the device itself provides theinstructions for powering on the system and accessing the appropriatelocations for the system information and then generating amachine-readable label from the information. A secondary device can thenbe used to read the label and transmit the information to a data storagelocation. Thus, not only is the described system and method much quickerthan manual access-and-log techniques, but, because it is isolated, italso eliminates the ability of malware or other nefarious software toinfect the logging system. Accordingly, the described system and methodis more efficient, more accurate, and more secure than conventionaltechniques for acquiring and logging system information.

The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by referenceto the figures. The following description is intended only by way ofexample, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.

While various other circuits, circuitry or components may be utilized ininformation handling devices, with regard to smart phone and/or tabletcircuitry 100, an example illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a system on achip design found for example in tablet or other mobile computingplatforms. Software and processor(s) are combined in a single chip 110.Processors comprise internal arithmetic units, registers, cache memory,busses, input/output (I/O) ports, etc., as is well known in the art.Internal busses and the like depend on different vendors, butessentially all the peripheral devices (120) may attach to a single chip110. The circuitry 100 combines the processor, memory control, and I/Ocontroller hub all into a single chip 110. Also, systems 100 of thistype do not typically use serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)or peripheral component interconnect (PCI) or low pin count (LPC).Common interfaces, for example, include secure digital input/output(SDIO) and inter-integrated circuit (I2C).

There are power management chip(s) 130, e.g., a battery management unit,BMU, which manage power as supplied, for example, via a rechargeablebattery 140, which may be recharged by a connection to a power source(not shown). In at least one design, a single chip, such as 110, is usedto supply basic input/output system (BIOS) like functionality anddynamic random-access memory (DRAM) memory.

System 100 typically includes one or more of a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN) transceiver 150 and a wireless local area network (WLAN)transceiver 160 for connecting to various networks, such astelecommunications networks and wireless Internet devices, e.g., accesspoints. Additionally, devices 120 are commonly included, e.g., awireless communication device, external storage, etc. System 100 oftenincludes a touch screen 170 for data input and display/rendering. System100 also typically includes various memory devices, for example flashmemory 180 and synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) 190.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of another example of informationhandling device circuits, circuitry or components. The example depictedin FIG. 2 may correspond to computing systems such as personalcomputers, or other devices. As is apparent from the description herein,embodiments may include other features or only some of the features ofthe example illustrated in FIG. 2 .

The example of FIG. 2 includes a so-called chipset 210 (a group ofintegrated circuits, or chips, that work together, chipsets) with anarchitecture that may vary depending on manufacturer. The architectureof the chipset 210 includes a core and memory control group 220 and anI/O controller hub 250 that exchanges information (for example, data,signals, commands, etc.) via a direct management interface (DMI) 242 ora link controller 244. In FIG. 2 , the DMI 242 is a chip-to-chipinterface (sometimes referred to as being a link between a “northbridge”and a “southbridge”). The core and memory control group 220 include oneor more processors 222 (for example, single or multi-core) and a memorycontroller hub 226 that exchange information via a front side bus (FSB)224; noting that components of the group 220 may be integrated in a chipthat supplants the conventional “northbridge” style architecture. One ormore processors 222 comprise internal arithmetic units, registers, cachememory, busses, I/O ports, etc., as is well known in the art.

In FIG. 2 , the memory controller hub 226 interfaces with memory 240(for example, to provide support for a type of random-access memory(RAM) that may be referred to as “system memory” or “memory”). Thememory controller hub 226 further includes a low voltage differentialsignaling (LVDS) interface 232 for a display device 292 (for example, acathode-ray tube (CRT), a flat panel, touch screen, etc.). A block 238includes some technologies that may be supported via the low-voltagedifferential signaling (LVDS) interface 232 (for example, serial digitalvideo, high-definition multimedia interface/digital visual interface(HDMI/DVI), display port). The memory controller hub 226 also includes aPCI-express interface (PCI-E) 234 that may support discrete graphics236.

In FIG. 2 , the I/O hub controller 250 includes a SATA interface 251(for example, for hard-disc drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs),etc., 280), a PCI-E interface 252 (for example, for wireless connections282), a universal serial bus (USB) interface 253 (for example, fordevices 284 such as a digitizer, keyboard, mice, cameras, phones,microphones, storage, other connected devices, etc.), a networkinterface 254 (for example, local area network (LAN)), a general purposeI/O (GPIO) interface 255, a LPC interface 270 (for application-specificintegrated circuit (ASICs) 271, a trusted platform module (TPM) 272, asuper I/O 273, a firmware hub 274, BIOS support 275 as well as varioustypes of memory 276 such as read-only memory (ROM) 277, Flash 278, andnon-volatile RAM (NVRAM) 279), a power management interface 261, a clockgenerator interface 262, an audio interface 263 (for example, forspeakers 294), a time controlled operations (TCO) interface 264, asystem management bus interface 265, and serial peripheral interface(SPI) Flash 266, which can include BIOS 268 and boot code 290. The I/Ohub controller 250 may include gigabit Ethernet support.

The system, upon power on, may be configured to execute boot code 290for the BIOS 268, as stored within the SPI Flash 266, and thereafterprocesses data under the control of one or more operating systems andapplication software (for example, stored in system memory 240). Anoperating system may be stored in any of a variety of locations andaccessed, for example, according to instructions of the BIOS 268. Asdescribed herein, a device may include fewer or more features than shownin the system of FIG. 2 .

Information handling device circuitry, as for example outlined in FIG. 1or FIG. 2 , may be used in devices such as tablets, smart phones,personal computer devices generally, and/or electronic devices, whichmay be used in systems that are used in logging system informationand/or programming the execution module for the described cable. Forexample, the circuitry outlined in FIG. 1 may be implemented in a tabletor smart phone embodiment, whereas the circuitry outlined in FIG. 2 maybe implemented in a personal computer embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method for accessing information on asystem utilizing a cable that sends an instruction to read out theinformation, generate a machine-readable label from the information, anddisplay the machine-readable label on a display so that a device readingthe label can log the information into a data storage location. Themethod may be implemented on a system which includes a processor, memorydevice, output devices (e.g., display device, printer, etc.), inputdevices (e.g., keyboard, touch screen, mouse, microphones, sensors,biometric scanners, etc.), image capture devices, and/or othercomponents, for example, those discussed in connection with FIG. 1and/or FIG. 2 . While the system may include known hardware and softwarecomponents and/or hardware and software components developed in thefuture, the system itself is specifically programmed to perform thefunctions as described herein to log system information. Additionally,the described cable includes features that are unique to the describedsystem.

The described system and method may be employed on a uniquely designedcable that has unique features and attributes. The cable may be a singledata and power cable (e.g., a USB-C cable, USB-mini cable, micro-USBcable, or any other data/power cable), a cable having separate power anddata cables, and/or the like. The cable type may be dependent on the usecase where the cable will be applied. For example, newer systems may beable to use combined data/power cables, whereas older systems may onlybe able to use separate data and power cables. Similarly, the connectortype may also be dependent on the use case or application.

The cable includes a display that is operatively coupled to the cable.While the disclosure discusses the fact that the cable can be isolatedfrom external systems with no external communication connectionscapabilities, there may be uses where external communication connectionsmay be useful. Thus, the cable may be designed to have externalcommunication connections, for example, near-field communicationconnections, wireless communication connections, wired communicationconnections, and/or the like. In the case that the cable does haveexternal communication connections, the display may be a display that isnot mechanically coupled to the cable, and is instead in operativecommunication with the cable via the one or more external communicationconnections.

In the event that the cable is isolated, meaning it is not designed withexternal communication connections, the display is mechanically coupledto the cable. The display may be integral to the cable or may beotherwise attached to the cable and utilize a data and/or power linefrom the cable to display data on the display and also power thedisplay, if needed. Example displays, whether integral, mechanicallycoupled, or external displays, include e-ink displays or otherreflective displays, liquid crystal displays (LCD) or other emissivedisplays, monitors, light emitting diode (LED) displays, and/or thelike.

The cable also includes an execution module which includes a processorand a memory device storing code that is executable by the processor. Itshould be noted that the memory device may not be a separate componentand may, rather, be a part of the execution module. In other words, theexecution module may include memory and may not include a separatememory “device”. However, this configuration still remains in the spiritof this disclosure and the term “memory device” as claimed and asfurther described herein. The execution module may be programmed withcode to perform the functions and provide the instructions as describedfurther herein.

At 301, the execution module of the cable may provide an instruction toa system coupled to the cable to access and read out information of thesystem to the cable. In an example use case, the cable may be pluggedinto a port of a system, also referred to as a target system for ease ofreadability. The target system may be a system which a user wants to logsystem information from. Unlike conventional systems, the describedsystem and technique does not require the target system to be powered onand booted into any particular system, for example, the basicinput/output system (BIOS) where most, if not all, the desired systeminformation would be stored. Thus, when the cable is plugged into thetarget system, the cable provides enough power to the system to accessthe BIOS, or other system of the target system that would store thedesired system information. Accordingly, the power provided may only beenough to power the system processor so the BIOS could be accessed andwould not power any peripherals, for example, display, keyboard, mouse,any other connection ports, and/or the like.

Once the appropriate system is powered on, which will be described asthe BIOS for ease of readability but is not intended to limit the scopeof the disclosure to only the BIOS, the execution module may transmitthe instruction to access the desired system level information. Whichinformation is accessed may be based upon the use case, but may includeinformation such as asset or system information (e.g., make, model,serial number, installed components, etc.), any custom changes to thesystem, whether the hard-drive, solid-state drive, or other storagedrive has been cleaned or formatted (referred to as wiped), a number ofhours that the system has run (referred to as an odometer reading),whether any shock events have occurred as detected by an accelerometerchip, a number of battery cycles, anomalous thermal events, and/or thelike. The instruction may also identify the specific location that thedesired information may be stored so that it can be accurately captured.Accordingly, the execution module may need to be uniquely programmed fora single system or class of systems. However, again, this will bedependent on the application and information that is being requested.

To ensure that system information is not inappropriately read orprovided to just any user with the cable, the cable and system mayrequire authentication before instructions are sent from the cable tothe target system. Thus, the cable may include encryption that can beused to authenticate the cable and target system so that communicationcan occur therebetween. Example encryption may include a key pair, wherethe cable has a private key and public key and the system also has aprivate key and public key. In standard key encryption techniques, thepublic key is known and is used to encrypt the transmitted encryptionmessage. The encrypted message can then be decrypted using the privatekey of the receiving entity (i.e., the entity receiving the encryptedmessage or responding to the authentication protocol). The decryptedmessage is then encrypted using the public key and sent back to thetransmitter (i.e., the entity sending the original message or initiatingthe authentication protocol). The transmitter decrypts the re-encryptedmessage using its private key and compares it to the original message toperform the authentication. Upon successful authentication of the keypair, communication between the cable and target system can occur.

There are many different authentication and encryption techniques thatcan be utilized and that vary in security and speed of authenticatingcommunication. Additionally, some authentication techniques rely onhaving access to external communication channels. Thus, it should beunderstood that different encryption and authentication techniques canbe utilized and that the chosen one will be dependent on the use case,desired level of security, and whether the cable has externalcommunication channel access.

Once the instruction is sent from the execution module to the targetsystem, the cable or system may determine if the system levelinformation can be read out in response to the instruction at 302. Thisdetermination may simply be based upon whether the cable receives datafrom the target system in response to the provided instruction. If noinformation is received at 302, the system may notify a user at 304.Since the cable may not have external communication connections, thenotification may be displayed on the display of the cable, for example,in the form of an error message, error code, or other message indicatingno information was received. Information may also be not received if theinstruction transmission is unsuccessful, the cable is unable to powerthe appropriate system, the cable is incorrectly connected to the targetsystem, the connection port is disabled or has failed, or the like.Thus, the error message may also include an explanation of whyinformation was not received. This explanation may be in the form of anerror code that has a corresponding cause that is known to the user ormay be looked-up in a manual or other literature provided with thecable.

If, on the other hand, information is received from the target system at302, the system and/or cable may generate a machine-readable label fromthe information of the system. The machine-readable label may includeany type of optical or visual label that can encode information, forexample, a quick response (QR) code, barcode, information label, or thelike. Thus, the cable can encode the system information into themachine-readable label that can be read by another device. Since thesystem information is encoded into a machine-readable label, it can beread by another device to quickly retrieve the information, but ensuresthat the cable itself is not transmitting information which prevents anymalicious or nefarious code from being transmitted and infecting anothersystem. In other words, generation of the machine-readable labelprovides a mechanism to allow the cable to be isolated while stillobtaining the desired system information and being able to convey theinformation.

At 305, the cable may display the machine-readable label on the display.The machine-readable label provides instructions to a device reading themachine-readable label to access a data storage location and log theinformation of the system into the data storage location. In otherwords, when a second device is used to scan or read the machine-readablelabel, the second device executes instructions, which are encoded withinthe label, that causes the device to access a data storage location andlog the system information encoded within the label into the datastorage location. This may include reading and storing the systeminformation on the second device and then transmitting the systeminformation to the data storage location.

As an additional, or alternative, level of encryption to the cable andtarget system encryption and authentication, the machine-readable labelmay also be encrypted. This may only allow specific devices to read thelabel and access the instructions contained within the label. The devicemay be authenticated using the authentication instructions within themachine-readable label. Upon authentication, the device can then accessthe data storage location at least enough to log the information encodedwithin the label. Additionally, or alternatively and depending on thelevel of security desired, any device may be used to read the label, butthe device is only used as a transmission device based upon theinstructions in the label. Thus, the device itself never has access toor stores the system information, thereby preventing users fromaccessing the information unless they have access to the data storagelocation containing the logged information.

It should be noted that in order to make the system more secure andprevent transmission of malicious or nefarious code from the cable tothe target system via the cable, the data transmission may be only oneway from the target system to the cable. In other words, the onlytransmission that occurs from the cable to the target system is thetransmission of the executable instructions. No data is transmitted fromthe cable to the target system. Rather, the only data transmitted isfrom the target system to the cable. This ensures that the system is notinfected with malicious or nefarious code from the cable. Additionally,since the cable is isolated, if malicious or nefarious code has infectedthe target system, the only impacted component is the cable which cannottransmit the malicious or nefarious code to any other system.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, various aspects may beembodied as a system, method or device program product. Accordingly,aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or anembodiment including software that may all generally be referred toherein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects maytake the form of a device program product embodied in one or more devicereadable medium(s) having device readable program code embodiedtherewith.

It should be noted that the various functions described herein may beimplemented using instructions stored on a device readable storagemedium such as a non-signal storage device that are executed by aprocessor. A storage device may be, for example, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples of a storage medium would include the following: aportable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of thisdocument, a storage device is not a signal and is not to be construed asbeing transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire. Additionally, the term “non-transitory” includes allmedia except signal media.

Program code embodied on a storage medium may be transmitted using anyappropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, radio frequency, et cetera, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing.

Program code for carrying out operations may be written in anycombination of one or more programming languages. The program code mayexecute entirely on a single device, partly on a single device, as astand-alone software package, partly on single device and partly onanother device, or entirely on the other device. In some cases, thedevices may be connected through any type of connection or network,including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), orthe connection may be made through other devices (for example, throughthe Internet using an Internet Service Provider), through wirelessconnections, e.g., near-field communication, or through a hard wireconnection, such as over a USB connection.

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the figures,which illustrate example methods, devices and program products accordingto various example embodiments. It will be understood that the actionsand functionality may be implemented at least in part by programinstructions. These program instructions may be provided to a processorof a device, a special purpose information handling device, or otherprogrammable data processing device to produce a machine, such that theinstructions, which execute via a processor of the device implement thefunctions/acts specified.

It is worth noting that while specific blocks are used in the figures,and a particular ordering of blocks has been illustrated, these arenon-limiting examples. In certain contexts, two or more blocks may becombined, a block may be split into two or more blocks, or certainblocks may be re-ordered or re-organized as appropriate, as the explicitillustrated examples are used only for descriptive purposes and are notto be construed as limiting.

As used herein, the singular “a” and “an” may be construed as includingthe plural “one or more” unless clearly indicated otherwise.

This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain principles and practical application, and to enable others ofordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for variousembodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particularuse contemplated.

Thus, although illustrative example embodiments have been describedherein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to beunderstood that this description is not limiting and that various otherchanges and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in theart without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, the method comprising: providing, viaan execution module of a cable, an instruction to a system coupled tothe cable to access and read out information of the system to the cable;generating, at the cable, a machine-readable label from the informationof the system; and displaying, on a display operatively coupled to thecable, the machine-readable label, wherein the machine-readable labelprovides instructions to a device reading the machine-readable label toaccess a data storage location and log the information of the systeminto the data storage location.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thecable does not have any external communication connection capabilities.3. The method of claim 1, wherein data transmission between the cableand the system only occurs from the system to the cable.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein, upon connection of the cable to the system, thesystem is powered on.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing theinformation of the system comprises accessing a basic input/outputsystem and accessing system level information.
 6. The method of claim 1,comprising, prior to the providing an instruction, authenticating thecable with the system.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein theauthenticating comprises exchanging a private and public key pairbetween the cable and the system.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein themachine-readable label is encrypted and wherein the device reading themachine-readable label is authenticated based upon the encryption andaccesses the data storage location upon successful authentication. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the display comprises an e-ink display.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cable comprises a power and datacable.
 11. A cable, the cable comprising: a display operatively coupledto the cable; an execution module operatively coupled to the display,the execution module comprising a processor and a memory device thatstores instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes thedevice to: provide, via the execution module, an instruction to a systemcoupled to the cable to access and read out information of the system tothe cable; generate, at the cable, a machine-readable label from theinformation of the system; and display, on the display, themachine-readable label, wherein the machine-readable label providesinstructions to a device reading the machine-readable label to access adata storage location and log the information of the system into thedata storage location.
 12. The cable of claim 11, wherein the cable doesnot have any external communication connection capabilities.
 13. Thecable of claim 11, wherein data transmission between the cable and thesystem only occurs from the system to the cable.
 14. The cable of claim11, wherein, upon connection of the cable to the system, the system ispowered on.
 15. The cable of claim 11, wherein accessing the informationof the system comprises accessing a basic input/output system andaccessing system level information.
 16. The cable of claim 11,comprising, prior to the providing an instruction, authenticating thecable with the system.
 17. The cable of claim 16, wherein theauthenticating comprises exchanging a private and public key pairbetween the cable and the system.
 18. The cable of claim 11, wherein themachine-readable label is encrypted and wherein the device reading themachine-readable label is authenticated based upon the encryption andaccesses the data storage location upon successful authentication. 19.The cable of claim 11, wherein the cable comprises a power and datacable.
 20. A product, the product comprising: a computer-readablestorage device that stores executable code that, when executed by aprocessor, causes the product to: provide, via an execution module of acable, an instruction to a system coupled to the cable to access andread out information of the system to the cable; generate, at the cable,a machine-readable label from the information of the system; anddisplay, on a display operatively coupled to the cable, themachine-readable label, wherein the machine-readable label providesinstructions to a device reading the machine-readable label to access adata storage location and log the information of the system into thedata storage location.